Fairy Revolution
by S.B. Liky
Summary: Grand Magic Games ended and dragons emerged from the Gate just before it closed. Attempts to destroy it and end this nightmare have failed causing many to die and just as many to go missing. Fiore is now subjected to tyrannical rule of future Rogue. Many guilds were disbanded and those who survived have joined last bastion of resistance. This is a story of a war for survival.
1. This is our world

**A/N: I always wondered what exactly happened to future Lucy, how is that future unraveled and how events shaped her personality. This will be a story about what happened if destroying Eclipse Gate failed. Fair warning, story may not be suitable for everyone it will be heavy and at points, violent. Roller-coaster included.**

* * *

Day was warm, more so than it should have for autumn. Heat was getting to her, she felt as if her uniform is practically strangling her from her neck right down to her very toes, but she wasn't complaining. From one table to another and then back at the counter, Lucy was moving with restless steps. It has been two months since she started working in small restaurant in Magnolia but desire to once again return to old life never left her. She missed her writing, her scripts, unfinished books and various short stories that were intended to be published one day, be it through someone's help or by herself. Those days now feel like a distant past, suitable only for reminiscence that sigh would follow.

Today was busy, quiet but busy. People come and take order, hardly speaking much even among each other. Even those who would be merry and attempt to pass onto others would soon quiet down as black and red jacket would walk in. Silence would spread inside locale and only sound of forks and knives pressing against plates would be heard. It was in those moments when Lucy's calmness and often seen cheerful nature would disappear like hot breath on cold morning; disperse as easily as it was created. Nevertheless, she still smiled… fake, forced smile but it was there.

Evening was slowly approaching, and working hours were coming to an end. Just one more hour and she can drag herself back to her apartment and wait for another day. Everything pointed out that this would be just a quiet evening, but alas… things do not always end up as one would wish. Her head turned as she heard the small bell that was placed above doors, signaling new customer that comes or one that would leave. Man, wearing brown jacket and matching pants, briefly looked around and walked toward the very corner of small restaurant, sitting at the table, far away from everyone else. Lucy looked left, then right and walked toward the man.

"Can I take your order?" She asked, holding small note in hand with pen in other.

"Coffee." Man replied. Within several minutes Lucy returned with mug, placing down on table in front of him. "Any news?" man asked, looking up at her as he took a slow sip of his hot beverage.

Lucy looked around, worried, searching locale carefully with her eyes before returning her gaze and leaning down, waving head slowly "Nothing. I haven't heard from them. It should have been done days ago but I saw no one at location."

"Well we don't have much time." Man said, rubbing his forehead, frowning at the situation.

"I know that." Lucy replied, her voice sounded louder than she intended and she quickly looked over her shoulder again and lowered her voice "I know that but I can't make them come any faster."

"I wasn't implying that." Man replied with cold voice, worried "Report to tavern after your shift."

Lucy nodded and left the table, returning back to counter. To say that she hated this kind of life would be understatement and fact that today was pay day gave her no consolation. It was, in fact, a reminder of the constant cost this entire thing is placing on her shoulders… not just on her, on everyone involved. Nevertheless she continued, tirelessly moving from one table to another, accepting orders from various people and bringing food and drinks. There was no rest, no break, not a moment to collect her resolve and continue with her work… all she had in her hands was a sad fact that she should be glad to work where she does now… after what happened to her not too long ago, she could barely collect her strength to do so. All that was left was despair and endless amount of hatred.

Clock reached 20:00. Man with neatly combed hair and black and white uniform closed the doors of restaurant, switching a sign from "Open" to "Closed". It was time to go home but first she was to collect her pay for this week. Man approached two of his waitresses and handed them envelopes. Lucy's brows furrowed slightly as she held her envelope… it was thinner. Her suspicion has proven to be correct, her colleague immediately protested but owner simply explained that sales are low and he has to cut some expenses. He finished with simple "If you do not like it, you are free to go." For Lucy, this was not an option and she remained quiet, thanking the owner before leaving. What she was going to do? She wished she could skip it, just this month… It was barely enough. Just, barely.

Streets of Magnolia used to be much merrier, especially in this time of year when festivals would start one after another, various guilds celebrating and trying to show off as much as possible. Children would laugh and run, parents would yell for them to come back, air would be filled with scent of cotton candy, soft and strong drinks, perfumes and food. Fairy Tail would use this opportunity to cause as much mischief as possible, unintentional but they would still be blamed for occasional wrecking. Mayor would rip his own hair at the very mention of Fairy Tail, but people were quick to forgive them. They were pride of Magnolia… And now? There were neither festivals nor lights of all colors. Silence replaced cheerful banter and instead of stalls of food, rubble was there, yet to be cleared and dust cleaned. Even if some passenger would to be seen, he would walk with hands in his pockets and head bowed forward, contemplating on the dire situation, looking for way out of this. She wanted to not pay attention to it, she wanted so hard to just ignore all this, to pretend it is a dream… to shake this odd chill that climbed up her spine and under her skin. Her arms would fold and hands grasp arms just above elbows and with even lightest of squeeze, nightmares would again appear before her eyes. She wanted to forget… but she could not.

One step led to another and soon she found herself in front of a tavern, rare one with windows that were not shattered. She opened doors and entered, quickly looking around. This was only place where any form of laugh could be heard and it was always busy. People here seemed to have easier time forgetting things. Slowly she approached counter where a man was wiping glass with clean white rag; tall man, wearing gray shirt and white apron, hair black as night with equally black beard. She approached and sat on the stool.

Lucy took deep, silent breath "I'm here to-"

"The usual? Coming right up!" Tender interrupted her and turned, taking a kettle from the small stove beside and poured some of the coffee from it into a cup. He placed same cup down on counter and slowly moved it toward Lucy. His hand rotated just a bit and he tapped it with fingertip on the side. She knew what it meant and slowly her head turned, enough to spot with corner of her eye… Two men sitting at table, wearing matching jackets of black and red colors. They appeared to be uninterested in what transpired around them. Slowly, Lucy turned her head forward and offered a slight nod. Man did the same and moved away, continuing his usual work of serving drinks to people.

She tilted the cup, eyes fixed on the reflection on the dark, warm surface, leaning forward just enough she could see her eyes in it. Slowly she moved it toward her lips and took a small sip, trying as best as she can to savor the sweet and bitter beverage. First coffee today and for one minute it made her forget about everything. Patiently she waited.

"Hey sweetness, what is a girl like you doing all alone huh?" Voice came from the side and she turned to see. Young man, mid-twenties with dark hair matching eyes, having large smile on face that revealed his teeth. She wasn't nearly as vexed by this attempt as much as she was by the fact what he wore… It was him, one of two that were in the corner. "Why don't you come with us and we can have some fun, eh?"

"Thanks but I already have a boyfriend." Lucy lied, trying with all her might to remain calm.

"Screw him! You know who we are?" He asked, every word was like a nail inside her ears, painful, unbearable to even listen. She smiled but said nothing, clenching her teeth, having the oddly familiar desire to snap his neck.

"Oy! Stop messing around!" Another voice reached and after it, owner of it came close. Another person, blonde hair, same jacket, only slightly less annoying.

"Come on, we were just talking, not harm in it eh?" First one replied. Her hand clenched cup hard, tips of her fingers turned white from pressure she applied on it and only her clenched teeth kept her from showing the shaking. Bartender coughed and apologized and as Lucy looked his way he offered simple, short, small wave with hand… that very sight made her calm down and her fingers released cup.

"Get a move on! You want praetor to yell at you again?" blonde man asked and took other one by his shoulder. They moved out of the tavern, giving Lucy the moment to let out a sigh, long one.

"Do they even pay?" She asked.

"Never did, never will." Bartender replied, watching Lucy take another long sip of her coffee before leaning slightly forward, just as he made sure that it was clear. Lucy took envelope from her pocket and placed it on counter. With another look around, man took envelope and placed it under counter, nodding toward Lucy.

"That's half of the pay… it is getting less and less with each month." She said with quiet tone "There is no way to somehow lower it?"

"I'm not the one making rules, you know that." He said in equally quiet tone. On his face she could see that he felt sympathy for her situation. "You're to get a message and deliver it here."

"Who is the messenger?" Lucy asked.

"He'll find you. Two days from now, make sure you avoid main streets. Got it?"

"Yeah…" she nodded, reluctantly. Her hand reached into her pocket but bartender slowly raised his right hand, showing his palm.

"It's on the house." He smiled and moved away. Even without saying any words, she was thankful for it, every little bit helped her to pull through every week. Slowly, she finished her coffee and headed out, back to gray, silent streets of once proud and cheerful Magnolia.

It was already dark outside. Every other lamp was working, luminous lacrima shined down upon the streets, making pockets of darkness in-between. In about half hour it will be 21 hours and walking outside would be forbidden. This was a newly made "police" hour that lasted until 6 in the morning, preventing anyone from moving in the streets during the night. Her apartment was not far and she decided to take a slightly longer route, passing by former library. She stopped in front of it; half of it was in ruins, other half barely standing, rubble everywhere and signs of fire present on the walls. Lucy remembers the day it was burnt down… she remembers the day she cried like a child as the Guild set it on fire and stood to prevent anyone from extinguishing it. So much knowledge lost, so many wonderful books, priceless works… gone, disappeared… destroyed as an example. She cried.

Memory of it filled her mind and her already sad eyes looked around. Street was clear, no one in sight and she took this opportunity to walk through the half-destroyed doors, walking toward the main hall. Charred wood everywhere, ash of the innumerable paper was all but gone. Once a place that made her feel happy now was just a monument of a lost battle. She stopped; feeling that under her foot was not a rock nor burnt wood but something softer. Her hand reached and picked the object up… a book, leather covered with only little bit of a burn to the edge. Pages were empty, not a single word inscribed inside. She hit it in her bag and made her way home.

Hastily she closed doors behind her and locked them, leaning back against it. Finally she was home, only place she felt remotely safe in this city. Landlady was… gone… with no one else to claim possession, she was sole owner of this apartment, if there was any luck in this entire misfortune, it was the fact that at least she didn't had to pay her rent… still… she missed landlady dearly.

Twice today she had to feel knot in her stomach and both times removed any desire for food. Right now, she needed a long bath.

It took her good half hour in warm water to forget today's events but at least the comfort and silence of her apartment would be enough to prepare her for tomorrow, to give her strength. Still wrapped in towel around her body, she walked toward the window, opening it wide, hoping that a certain pinkette would be a big brat and come in, raid her fridge and dig through her books and scripts. She wanted that so much right now…

Desk once filled with books, papers and script was now all but empty, void of her once grand dreams of becoming renowned writer. Lucy sat down and pulled out book she took, using her hand to clean its covers from dust. For few moments she observed it and reluctantly she opened first page. Nothing was there, not a word. A sad thing, terrible thing, to be left unused, to never be filled with dreams and sweet words. She took ink and quill and after another long moment she wrote.

 _If anyone is reading this, if by some chance this book is not burnt and I am no longer alive, pass along our tale, do not let us be forgotten._

For a moment she stopped, pondering on her own words before dipping quill into ink and continuing.

 _It all started after Grand Magic Games. We won but we didn't even have time to celebrate. No one could have predicted that opening Eclipse Gate would've brought dragons; no one could've seen that Rogue's future self would be here but somehow we all could see how it would end. With help of Yukino from Sabertooth and princess Hisui, we managed to close the gate but it was more than enough for seven dragons to appear and all seven appeared to be under Rogue's control. One of them, bathed in flame who calls himself Atlas Flame, managed to break away from control with help of Natsu, but other six proved to be too great of a challenge for us._

She briefly stopped, taking few short breaths to calm herself. Her letters were now showing signs of shaking, uneven letters and ink-smeared edges became common as she continued writing.

 _Me from future left us a book and in it we found a way to end this nightmare. If we destroy Eclipse Gate then future would change, Rogue wouldn't have means to return to past and summon army of dragons. We tried to destroy them but one of the dragon, Zirconis, stood in our way. We fought, as hard as we could but it seemed to have made no effect on him. Royal army fell first… he stripped them of their clothes and then simply obliterated them in a single breath. We learned that only dragon slayers have any chance against dragons. That lesson we paid heavily. Laxus and Wendy tried to defeat the Jade Dragon but he avoided their attacks and focused all his attention on Laxus. I saw dragon unleash roar at him… that was last time we saw Laxus. We haven't found his remains but it has been two years now and there is every reason to believe he is gone._

Lucy stopped again, pressing hands against her cheeks and eyes, staying for several minutes quiet and still, collecting her thoughts.

 _Sting and Rogue from our time fought two dragons, though they survived, we know not where they are. Fairy Tail paid heavy price… Macao, Droy and Wakaba lost their lives that day and more of Fairy Tail members fell in next few weeks. After that night, Crocus was completely in ruins._

 _At first, we believed that future Rogue was only interested in destroying all of Fiore but soon he calmed down and decided that instead of leaving it in ruins, it would be better to rule it. He crowned himself new Emperor of Fiore and declared every guild that stood against him a public enemy. With six dragons behind him, there was little hope of opposing him. Guilds were left with just two choices, join him or be disbanded. Those who refused were destroyed while those that followed him were soon placed to rule towns and impose their vision of order but in reality he simply wished to prevent any possible chance of people gathering against him. With only two dragon slayers left, we knew our hopes were almost non-existent. Magnolia is now home of Twilight Legion, only guild allowed operating in this city and they are executing their cruel vision of law and order. Life is only seemingly normal but deep inside, fear runs in everyone._

 _As for Natsu… I do not know what happened to him. All I remember is him falling down on the ground during the fight with Rogue. He was caught in a ball of shadow and next second he was gone, disappeared. That was last time I saw Natsu. Erza keeps saying to accept possibility that he is dead but... I refuse… to this day I still hope he would climb through my window, having his big dump smile and promise that things would be fine again._

 _If you are reading this, if there is yet a way to go back in time, warn everyone, tell them what you saw, tell them that Project Eclipse is a gateway to destruction and suffering._

Her right hand moved away and left one pressed her eyes tightly. Silent moans filled room as tears fell down on the page. Last words she wrote were partially smeared by the drops that fell.

 _We are no longer fighting to prove we are strongest… we are fighting to survive…_


	2. Out of nowhere

Leather cover slowly opened, fingers trailed upon the first, written page and then moved onto the second one. The writer, after taking deep breath and removing few strands of her blond hair from dreamy but sad eyes, moved the end of her quill toward the beginning of empty page.

 _If there is any day in the week when I remotely feel in any way relaxed, it is Sunday. Only on Sunday I do not work, only on Sunday I get to stay at home, in my bed and under its covers. My life is now but a shell of my former lifestyle, a shell that struggles and fights the reign of oppression and constant desperation._

 _Only on Sunday I get to sit on the window and watch people pass by. They lie, pretend that they are fine with how things are… that they can continue their normal lives. They lie… but I understand them. None were given much of a choice to begin with. Anyone who would try to escape, to walk out of city would be caught and brought before the guild master of the Twilight Legion. Unforgiving, ruthless, heartless… if I would to add all adjectives to describe him I would not have enough space in this entire book. He is nothing short of a monster. None may leave Magnolia and it pains me to say this, however, for this… we are to blame…_

 _But this is not about Sunday. I am writing this to tell you what happened to me yesterday… a day when my life was saved three times…_

* * *

Lucy looked around; darkness bathed everything around her in pitch black. Her eyes wandered, as if wanting to see something particular in endless void. She saw no floor, no ceiling, not a single wall but she could walk on something. With every step her heels clicked against seemingly invisible surface. She didn't know where she is going but she knew that she has to go in _that_ direction. Figure appeared in distance, growing as she started running. It was familiar, yes, familiar shape, familiar hair and clothes and sudden joy took over… but as she drew near, figure looked at her, eyes filled with tears and breath catching inside throat, as if it is obstructed by something… gagging noise became louder.

"Lucy…" figure said and blonde stopped, seeing another figure appear from behind. Its face was as dark as everything around her and only set of white teeth were visible. Finger extended, turning into long knife and pressed against throat of the first figure. All it was heard in next moment was "Run."

Scream was heard and finger jerked.

Her eyes suddenly opened and she sat up on her bed. One hand pressed against bed, other reached up to her face… she was bathed in sweat so much that even sheet was damp. Different day, same nightmare… How many times is it this week? Oh, yeah… sixth time this week. It was 5 in the morning. Another three hours and she'll have to be at work. Returning back to sleep was no longer an option, image was still too vivid before her eyes and scream still present in her head.

Long, warm bath managed to avert her mind from the nightmare. It wasn't premonition but an image of the past, not nearly close to being distant one. This scar was still fresh. She learned well how to conceal magical items, few remained legal to be sold while majority were banned under the irrational suspicion they might aid in some sort of revolution… but soldiers of the Twilight Legion weren't too bright. With carefully implemented enchantments, she managed to conceal quite the amount of magicaly-fueled appliances. This one, in her opinion, was the most devious of all magical items. Dangerous, apocalyptic if not handled with care… She waited for her toast to emerge from this artifact…

Her mind shifted again in another direction as she waited for magical toaster to finish its world-ending daily routine. Now, another voice appeared in her head…

 _The one at fault is none other, than you! Lucy Heartfilia! Because of you our world will burn!_

Is that true? Rogue blamed her for opening Eclipse gate but they already have seen it open. What happened in future? Was she really one to blame? Did she really doomed entire world? She looked down, right there on the table in front of her was a knife, long and round at the tip but blade was sharp. Slowly she reached for it and took it. If she would to do it now, if she would to just end it, would it change anything? Past, present and future, maybe they will change if she would to just end this misery that she calls her life. Her hand clenched handle of the knife while eyes now looked to her other arm. Just one swift move, little pain and soon she would go to sleep… Why would she continue? For whom does she now have to live? Her parents long gone… her guild torn, her best friend dead, Natsu probably met his end. Who will care if she would to die now? Just one swift move and all of Rogue's words will vanish from her head. But what if… just, what if all what he said was a lie? What if all he did was planned and intended, what if she is not the cause of all this destruction? What if his words are a lie? What if they aren't?

Her mind snapped and eyes quickly looked around as the sound of two pieces of toast emerging from the metallic contraptions. She quickly lowered her knife and took a deep breath. It is almost 8, time for quick breakfast and then off to work. No one will know, no one will realize that her life was now saved… by a common toaster.

Monotonous and nerve-wrecking. If such combination is possible, it would describe Lucy's work. On some days she would just circulate between tables, taking orders and delivering food and beverages without a minute of break. Other days were unpredictable; Twilight Legion members would occasionally come to be patrons. In this world, being cute waitress is a curse and more than few times would they slip hand where they shouldn't. Lucy desperately wanted to slap them but that would cost her job she currently has… and something much worse would then follow.

This day seemed to be the later one. From the moment she walked into the establishment she could feel eyes upon her but she couldn't tell from where. She looked around but none of the patrons seemed suspicious. One guest after another, hour after hour, she tirelessly worked with smile on her face, still having the feeling that she was being continuously watched. One of the patrons that just walked in, rose his hand and called for her. Obediently, she approached.

"Good day, what can I get you?" She asked with smile on her face.

Man in grey coat looked at her up and down before talking in silenced tone "Lucy Heartfilia?"

"Yes?" Lucy asked, confirming his assumptions. He leaned forward and beckoned with finger for her to come closer. First, she looked around to make sure none of the 'police' is present before leaning forward.

"I have message for you. Meet me at Town square after your work."

"Why can't you give it now?" She asked, frowning slightly but man waved his head.

"Tonight, after your shift." He repeated. His head turned only a bit and he noticed that owner was now looking at both of them. Tone shifted and he was now louder, one would dare say normal. "Uhhh yeah I'll have a coffee. Thank you."

She didn't have much of a choice. For the moment she would continue to work and take message on the way home. Hopefully, there won't be much of an issue. As the day progressed, less and less people came into the restaurant and that was first time she could take few minutes to rest her feet. Aching, sore feet pulsated in rhythm of her heartbeat as she was waiting for someone to come in or walk out. Rest, however, was rare and soon chef from the kitchen yelled out for her to come and carry out garbage. Despite it not being her job, she couldn't complain and took rather large black bag. She didn't even walk ten steps and same chef yelled again for her to return, adding more in the bag. Obediently, she walked out and headed to nearest container. This would've been just another chore but it turned bad quickly. As soon as she threw out black bag she could hear voices not more than five meters away. Two men were holding a girl, not older than 19 years and one of them pulled her sleeve up, holding lacrima in other hand. Light of the street lamp was sufficient for Lucy to see… mark of the Fairy Tail. She knew that girl… joined Fairy Tail seven months ago, even worked together from time to time. They quickly tightened their grip and subdued her, sending few electric shocks through her body… enough for her to fall down on the ground in spasm… Girl looked at Lucy but said nothing, just stared for few seconds before two of them took her away. She was saved second time today, this time by the screaming chef… if she was out just few seconds earlier, it could've been her that they caught and she would end up in dungeon. Now, all she had to do was watch her guild mate… friend even, being dragged away to be questioned, tortured, questioned again and then… executed. No room for tears, she knew this awaits everyone from Fairy Tail. Without a single word said, she returned. She never got used to the sight but she did learned how to hide emotions, just for short bit. Her friend is about to meet end in least humane way… and all she could do is continue what she was doing.

She agreed to this, it was well known this would be an eventuality, waiting for everyone in Fairy Tail. A price to pay for sins they committed.

Lucy walked out of the restaurant at 20:40. This was longer than usual but members of Twilight Legion had to be served and owner saw it fit that Lucy should be the one providing them with all satisfaction they required. Fortunately they seemed far more preoccupied with their own banter to focus on Lucy, but that did make her leave forty minutes later than usual. If she hurries, she will get the message and be at home just before curfew starts.

She approached town square, wide area with fountain still intact, miraculously. Eyes wandered around in an effort to find same man that came today and finally she saw him in one of the less illuminated streets.

"You are late." He sad as Lucy approached, still looking around to ensure no one is present.

"I do not control when boss is going to let me go." She responded. With everything that happened today, attitude was last thing she needed to hear from a person she sees now and then never again.

Man slowly opened his coat and pulled out a sealed letter, slightly wrinkled. Without any questions she took it and placed it inside her bag.

"I'll deliver it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" He asked, surprised "No no, this has to be delivered tonight."

"I cannot deliver it tonight. Police hour will start in ten minutes and even if I run I won't be able to reach tavern." She protested but man seemed disinterested in her excuses.

"It cannot wait, it has to be tonight."

"And what am I supposed to do if I am caught while walking the streets during curfew?" She practically growled at him, annoyed at how situation was progressing.

"Then don't get caught, simple as that." He responded and buttoned his coat, walking away, down the dark street. This is nothing short of a nightmare. She took deep breath and turned, walking toward the tavern with hastened pace. Any faster would be running and that practically screams "I am suspicious, please catch me." This way they might just think of her as a person trying to reach home before hour reaches 21. Even if she does reach the tavern, which at this pace was nothing short of impossibility, there was no way for her to return home. She would have to spend the night there.

Loud noise filled the night, sound of alarm was heard everywhere. Curfew starts, walking out is now prohibited… and she still has one kilometer of walk. She turned, walking from one alley into another, peeking over corners to see if anyone is out there but fact they wore mostly black uniforms meant she will have much more difficult time recognizing them in the dark. It seemed as if it would've been a smooth slip but a loud "Hey!" reached her ears, coming from behind. She didn't turn, she didn't responded but instead she just took turn to the right in nearest alley. Her eyes feasted on terror… This was a dead end. Shout came again, closer, making her head turn. They are there, standing at the crossroad, looking at her. No need to see their faces, it was all but clear that they were more than content with what they saw.

"Well well well… What do we have here? A stray sheep" First one commented, voice all too familiar "Don't cha know it's not allowed to be out after nine?"

"I was just heading home." She said, voice trembling slightly, feigning innocence "Took a wrong turn, it was supposed to be next one."

"Oh yeah, we heard that before." Other one said and both of them started moving closer "Last one sayin' that ended up being taken for a… _conversation_ with the prefect."

Lucy knew that if she would to step into that so called office of a prefect, she would never be able to see light of the day again.

"But ummm… We are not that bad, I mean, we're supposed to keep the peace, be the good guys so, we can make some sort of a deal, eh?" First one said, now they were only three meters away from her. Lucy took a step back, then another. This deal that they spoke of… she knew what it was all about. Enduring that again, was worse than death. She is a soldier now… it would've come to this eventually.

She took another step back and now she leaned forward, rushing in as much as her legs could carry her. Taken by surprise, second one of the guild members took a direct blow from her as she slammed her body against him, right shoulder first, enough to knock him off his feet. She stumbled but regained her stability and attempted to run away. First man simply appeared in front of her like a rising shadow and grabbed her by her throat, lifting her and throwing her back. Her breaths intertwined with hard cough before she could hear "That bitch!" from behind. Her strength wasn't enough to knock him out, it was all too well known to her. She stood up and reached for her bag, taking out her whip. In quick move it extended, emitting the bright blue colour. Two of them just laughed, amused by what they see. Sudden crack was heard and whip moved around one of them, grabbing man by his neck, tightening hard. He would've chocked but her hands released whip as the ice ball slammed against her back. She cried in pain and stumbled forward. Man, one that almost got strangled, coughed loud and approached her, grabbing her up by her neck again, lifting off the ground.

"Just for that, I ain't gonna be nice." He growled at her. Lucy attempted to struggle, trying to reach for his face and her nail managed to scratch his face, opening enough for a small drop of blood to appear. "You bitch!" He snarled at her and with other hand he punched her right in her stomach. Immediately she lost all breath from her lungs, choking from the sudden and intense pain that radiated through her entire body. Man sent another hard punch, and another followed by two more all at the same place and threw her at the nearest wall. All strength she had in her body has left her and she had no control of her limbs… she was there, curled, attempting to yet again breathe and her eyes caught a blurry glimpse. He was reaching for her again. This is it. She will die tonight; she will be released from this torment. Silently she prayed… let it be quick.

Hand that was supposed to grab her never reached its destination. Frightened, she waited to be lifted and thrown like a rag doll… but she wasn't. Her eyes opened as she heard loud "Ooof!". Slowly, she propped herself up into sitting position, just enough to see what is going on. Man, her executioner to be, was down on the ground, body half obstructed by another figure, covered by long cape and hood.

"Don't you know it's not nice to hit girls?" He said. Did she hear this well?

"Out of our way, this is strictly Twilight Legion business!"

"Twilight Legion? What kind of crappy name is that?" Man asked, tilting head slightly. No, she heard this well, she knows this voice.

"You bastard!" One of them shouted. Magical circle appeared on his hands and from it flew several icy spikes. Hooded man seemingly had no problem avoiding them.

"You call that Ice magic? I know a guy who could knock out a giant by just snapping his fingers." He commented and before there was re-cast, he rushed over to him, slamming his fist right into man's face. There was no finesse, no skill, just a raw, albeit strong, punch that knocked man out of his feet and out of conscience. Second man ran over to him, his fists enlarged and seemingly made out of steel. These punches were much more calculated but alas, he wasn't even close to even land a scratch at his attacker. Left, right, jab, uppercut… all missed their mark and hooded man grew tired of avoiding attacks and grabbed man by his face, slamming him first against the wall before dragging him before Lucy.

"Now apologize to h- Oh hey, it's Lucy…" man said. She was now sure she knows that voice but she prayed this was not a dream. This tone, this height, those eyes… she knew them.

"Hey Happy!" He shouted "I found Luce!"

"Where?!" Voice came from above, landing right in front of her "Wow it really is Lucy!" Exceed confirmed in a cheerful tone. Lucy was in state of awe, still feeling pain in her body but now it didn't matter one bit. Her eyes were wide, her lips trembled and feet grew cold.

"Natsu?" She asked, waiting for reply that would confirm her suspicion.

"That's right!" Natsu said, pulling the hood down. He was smiling, wide like any idiot would. Nothing changed on his face except for his hair which was now long, tied with a small ribbon. "Long time no see."

"Long time no see?" She repeated, voice low, trembling.

"Natsu?" Happy moved few steps back "She looks angry."

"Umm… We're back." Natsu replied, his smile slowly fading as his eyes slowly widened. He knew where this would lead and he steeled himself for the hit. With luck… he won't reach fly more than couple streets. Though her legs felt like lead, she managed to stand up. He expected her to throw something at him, to punch him, to kick him, to yell at him. Natsu closed his eyes as she was approaching him and instead of punch or kick, she simply rushed last couple of feet, wrapping her arms around him. Pure shock made him drop the half-conscious guy down on the ground, hearing slight groan from him.

"Where were you?" She whispered, holding her face against his chest.

"We kind of took the wrong detour." He said, slightly embarrassed at the circumstances that delayed his return. She smiled, laughed even… yeah, that's something Natsu would do. "Luce? Is everything alright?"

"I'm… I'm…" she sobbed, quiet at first but soon it was loud enough for both Natsu and Happy to hear her "I'm just glad to see you."

Natsu was quiet, allowing her to let out all the pressure that she had in her. His arms slowly moved and wrapped around her, smiling down at her. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you too."

So many emotions were intertwined; so many thoughts swirled in her head. Day she thought she may never see finally came, out of nowhere, in a place she never expected to be in. She knew but she won't tell him just yet… this night, he saved her life.


	3. New Fairy Tail

**A/N: I won't say this chapter was fun. To be perfectly honest with you this is one of the heaviest chapters I ever wrote across all my stories. As you read you will understand why. I am again reminding you, my beloved readers, this is not going to be a particularly happy story or filled with fluff, although I will add some softer and heart-warming moments for the benefit of the story as a whole... this will be the story for those with a bit stronger stomach. This chapter contains some difficult scenes that are dialed down as much as possible to be rated T. Let me know what you think, I am really interested in hearing your opinion about this story and current progression.**

* * *

"Wow Luce…" Natsu commented, feeling slightly uncomfortable as blonde was still holding him in tight embrace "You're a lot more friendlier than I remember."

"Maybe she liiiikes you." Happy commented through a chuckle, instantly making Natsu blush. Cat immediately flew up, making distance from Lucy just in case she would attempt to catch him. Blonde wizard simply giggled and released Natsu, wiping her eyes that were now filled with tears of joy.

"I'm sorry." She said as she finished brushing her cheeks "For a minute I thought I was dreaming."

"What are ya saying?" Natsu asked, content that low lights did well to hid texture on his own cheeks "We're as real as we can get."

"Aye sir!" Happy added.

"Yes… yes you are." Lucy said in lower tone, still marveling over the fact how much Natsu changed. He has grown, several centimeters in height and quite a bit in muscles. His eyes still had same burning life in them and his very presence felt as if she was standing in the sun during summer days. Perhaps… if things were different. She quickly snapped out of her thoughts and looked around "We have to go before anyone else comes. Take those two with you?"

"Wait, why do we have to take them along? They will be fine with a bit of dirt nap 'till the morning." Natsu commented, confused over Lucy's instructions but she pressed on with same request. He moved over to unconscious bodies and picked them up, one hanging over his left shoulder, other under his right arm, carried as if they were two sacks of feathers.

"Streets are not safe during the night." Lucy added, walking over to the end of the street, peeking over corner to look if someone is there.

"So? We'll just beat them up!" Natsu commented with cheerful, and for Lucy too loud, voice.

"Let's not get into any more fights tonight. Without you, I don't know how I would explain those two." She motioned with hand for Natsu and Happy to follow and they started moving, following her quick steps from one dark street to another. Explain… yeah, as if I would have the chance to explain. If it wasn't for Natsu, I doubt I would be alive.

Finally, after twenty minutes of sneaking and grabbing every chance possible to walk in the shadows, they arrived in another alley. Floor was made out of cobblestone, uneven due to lack of proper maintenance. She moved fast toward the doors of the tavern and knocked three times on it. No answer. She repeated it with same result, and once more until doors finally opened enough only for one eye to be seen.

"You are not supposed to be here." Man's voice came from inside.

"I know, this is urgent." Lucy said, looking down the street toward intersection, checking if someone would to come "Messenger insisted for letter to be delivered tonight."

"Alright, pass it." He said in lower tone.

"There are also two from Legion that require memory remodeling" Lucy started again and eye now seemed to be frowning.

"I do not know if you are deaf or just dumb but I told you we cannot make any more exceptions."

"Hey! Who are you calling dumb?!" Natsu interjected with louder, barking voice, standing right behind Lucy.

"For a third priority you are causing a lot of trouble." Man said, briefly looking at Natsu and then back at Lucy "Send him home, we don't want any more recruits."

"Alright, that's it!" Natsu barked and pressed right foot on the door. One fast move, one strong push and doors were open wide, breaking the chain that held them locked and sending man behind the doors flying over to the opposite wall. "We're coming in."

Man let out a loud grunt as he fell down to the floor, cursing pinkette who walked in with two bodies in his arms. Lucy closed doors and apologized to man with the excuse that this is urgent. She guided him to the doors to the left and they moved down the stairs. Once they reached bottom, there were another door with small lacrima crystal at the center.

"Wait a moment." She instructed and rolled up her left sleeve, pointing bit of exposed skin to the crystal. Faint blue light emerged from it and on Lucy's hand slowly appeared mark of Fairy Tail. Natsu observed this with interest, oblivious to true nature of the mark but he said nothing. Doors opened and Lucy walked inside. Room was large, illuminated by lacrima crystals on walls. Closest to her and to the right was a large table with numerous papers and maps on it. To the left was what could be described as improvised kitchen. Only the very basic of tools were present. To the other side of room were beds, placed one beside another in a row as if it was military barracks. People inside immediately took notice of Lucy, few stopped to see why she is here, others simply continued what they were doing. By the look of it, there were no more than twenty inside.

"Lucy." Female voice called for her "You shouldn't be here."

"Erza." Lucy said and pulled out letter from the bag "I know, but this is urgent."

"It couldn't have waited until the morning?" Erza asked as she took the letter and seeing as blonde waved her head, she let out a sigh "Very well, but don't make this a habit. We already have enough issues as it is."

"Will you tell this dumb bitch and her idiot sidekick to learn the fucking rules?" Man came barging through the doors, holding back of his head that was still sore from the hit. He appeared to be in mid-twenties, short brown hair and matching eyes with scar over the right edge of lips. His clothes seemed decent, few rips on edges but far from being rags.

"Sidekick?" Erza asked, frowning heavily as she observed angry man. Her eyes returned to Lucy, piercing her with sharp gaze "I told you not to bring anyone here, regardless if they want to join."

"I know but this is different." Lucy started, voice trying to justify actions that transpired "It's-"

"It's a fucking security risk, that's what it is!" Man shouted, moving closer to Lucy. "Or have you forgotten what happened three months ago eh?"

"Jake, that's enough." Erza said, looking toward the pissed wizard. "What's done is done."

"Yea but we still lost six for her. Just pointing it out." His voice lowered, sending unearthly chill down Lucy's spine. She remembered that event well… she will never forget. Her head lowered and eyes looked to the side and every positive emotion was now replaced by guilt.

"Enough!" Erza raised her voice, noticing Lucy's growing discomfort. He wasn't wrong but she hated his constant reminder of it. Her eyes landed again on Lucy "Is that all?"

"Sorry! This one is waking up, have to put him somewhere." Natsu said, pushing doors open with his leg, gently this time, and walked inside. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

His question was valid, everyone in the room immediately stopped doing whatever they were doing and looked straight toward Natsu. They were staring at him as if he was circus freak, eyes wide and in awe at the pinkette with long hair and couple of Legion members in his hands, one of which began letting out grunting sounds.

Lucy raised her head, showing only slight smile on her face before she managed to utter "I found Natsu."

"It can't be…" Erza said and moved closer to him. With every step her right hand moved closer to her sheathed sword. She grasped handle and pulled it out, moving tip of sword just under Natsu's chin, pressing sharp point at his throat, much to his surprise. Unconvinced at what she was looking at, taking time to measure him carefully with her gaze "Who won S-class trials at Tenrou Island?"

Natsu swallowed hard, gazing up at her nearly murdering intent that was present in her eyes "Umm… Erza? Is this really the time to-"

"I will not ask again!" She growled, pressing tip a bit more at his throat to point of him feeling as if it would breach his skin.

"No one!" He shouted "I challenged gramps to allow me extra round and he…"

"And he what?!" Erza asked with even louder tone.

"He knocked me into a tree!" Natsu replied, still feeling the sting of his pride being shattered as old man knocked him out in one punch.

Erza let out a sigh, closing her eyes for moment. Faint smile appeared on her lips as she lowered her sword, sheathing it back into scabbard before moving closer, wrapping arms tight around him.

"It really is you, Natsu."

Natsu was taken by surprise. Sure Erza was known for periodic outbursts of kindness but this "Oookaaaaay, you people are acting weird and I wanna know why."

"Of course. But first…" Erza turned, calling for Mest. Minute later, tall dark-haired wizard came closer, dressed in long dark blue pants and sleeveless shirt with brown vest over it. His arms were covered in scars, right one more than left. Cuts, several burns. His left shoulder looked as if it has recovered from missing a large chunk of his muscle.

"Memory again?" he asked with monotonous tone. He would've commented on Natsu's arrival but was cut off by Erza who picked up both unconscious men from Natsu with ease.

"See that you make them lose memory in some bar. It wouldn't be first time." Erza commented and looked toward Natsu who was still wondering why all people inside suddenly started looking at him. "Come, you have questions."

"Yea, for start, why are you here and not in our guild hall?" Natsu asked, following Scarlet warrior toward rather large round table filled with papers and maps. She pointed finger toward one of the chairs and Natsu sat on it. Across the table, Erza took a sit, leaning forward with elbows planted on the surface of the table, fingers linked and lips hid behind the hands. If previous expression could have been described as joyful, this one would most certainly be its polar opposite.

"We cannot…" She answered in lower voice.

"Why not?"

"Because it is impossible. We lost it during the fight…"

"What do you mean lost?" Natsu leaned forward, irritated by what he just heard. Indeed, it would be hard not to be vexed by those words… that hall was his second home.

Erza's expression was solemn, her hands clenched and eyes looked down. She swallowed hard, taking long pause in silence. _Where to begin?_

"When we fought dragons after games, do you remember what happened?"

"Yeah." He nodded "I fell down to the ground. Happy tried to pick me up in the air again but we got caught in some weird shadow magic. Two seconds later we ended up in some kind of cave."

"Aye." Happy added as he floated above Natsu "We couldn't find exit for days. There were fish in water though! And some bad mushrooms…"

"I see… Then let me tell you what happened from our perspective. After you vanished, things went from bad to worse. First we lost you, then Laxus went missing and we started losing one battle after another. We lost… a lot of people that day and we had to retreat from Crocus. We devised a plan as we went along. Rune Knights, or what was left from them in Crocus, organized full evacuation while we held attention of dragons as best as we could. Everyone was exhausted, we started losing our magical reserves and those minions kept coming faster than we could wipe them out. By the time city was halfway through evacuation, we lost too many and we had to retreat.

Rogue started clearing out streets of all those who didn't got out in time. Dragon's spawns didn't care who they attacked… by the end of the night… entire city was dead silent and in ruins." She closed her eyes, everyone around looked away, remembering the event "We couldn't help anyone anymore. That night, King lost his life…

Lucy gave us the book and in it we found out that Eclipse gate was responsible for all this. We figured, if it works both ways, if this is both entry and exit, then maybe if we destroy the gate all dragons along with Rogue from future would disappear. We were right but…"

"But what?" Natsu asked, widening eyes in horror as he was listening to Erza's story.

"But we couldn't reach it anymore. We understood importance of the gate but so did he. To be safe, he placed two dragons to guard it while he went on rampage. Crocus was lost; we knew that well so we had to make sure Magnolia is safe along with other cities. Erasing the mistake of opening gate is one thing but we did not know if damage would still be there. Some say it would erase everything from the moment of opening the gate, others said that it would only return dragons to their time.

We spent too long out of the city… We believed that he was only looking for destruction and chaos, but as it turns out he had entirely different plan. He brought two of the dragons to Magnolia and said that all guilds had to choose: to be disbanded or to unite under his rule and act as his own extended enforcement unit in city. Dark Guilds were first ones who rose to take up that offer and soon… guild war started in Magnolia. On one side were few legal guilds that refused the offer, on other were group of guilds both legal and dark who saw this as opportunity to settle their own scores. Result was complete victory of the dark guilds."

"Hold on." Natsu interrupted her "How come we lost? I mean even without me and Laxus, there are other wizards! You defeated 100 monsters almost single-handedly!"

"That is true." She nodded "But you have to understand, we weren't in Magnolia at the time. We were still trying to gather as many people as possible who were evacuated and find them temporary shelter. There was… no way we could've known Magnolia would end up in bad spot…"

After we heard what happened here, we returned immediately and organized, what would be later known as "First uprising". We stormed our Guild Hall and took down current alliance of guilds. It really was easy for us to take our town back."

"But then another problem arose" Lucy said, stepping closer to table, standing beside Natsu. Briefly he looked up at her, noticing same expression on her face as he has seen on Erza.

"Not exactly a problem, more of an… opportunity." Another voice came. Man walked over, stepping into the light and stood beside Erza. Even changed, Natsu could recognize Lahar. "While Fairy Tail was taking back Magnolia and Blue Pegasus ensured safety on their end, remaining leaders of Rune Knights issued order for all Rune Knights to assemble and take Crocus back. We were over hundred thousand men strong at the time. We made a plan. Rune Knights would to combat dragon's minions and Fairy Tail along with other guilds would take the opportunity to destroy the Eclipse gate."

"So what went wrong?" Natsu asked and Erza answered his question

"Rogue, from current time, went missing completely and Sting said he would go and find him. However, problem was, both were gone before plan was made. That left us with only three dragon slayers… Our calculation placed us in position to believe that one called Motherglare would be outside of Crocus, to produce minions. That one has proved as accurate prediction. We divided forces into three large groups to attack from three sides. If one dragon would to take one of the lines to defend Crocus, that would leave only two dragons inside. Eric would take one, Gajeel other, Wendy would support them and we would focus all our efforts on destroying the gate…"

"But it did not go as planned." Erza added.

"How come?" Natsu asked, leaning forward even more.

"You know how in stories you hear about two armies clashing in a heroic battle to last man standing?" Lahar asked, adjusting his glasses. Pinkette took a moment to think and nodded. Lahar's voice grew deeper, every word was cold "It was in fact a brutal, one-sided slaughter. For every minion we killed, three more came to replace it and we lost five men. Other dragons proved to be just as frightening and wiped out lines as if they were dry grass… By the time we managed to issue full retreat, our entire force that once numbered over hundred thousand… was now down to a single regiment. In less than half hour we lost all but 2000 men."

"That was only half the tragedy." Erza continued explanation, rising hand, signaling Lahar to stop and calm himself "On our end, things went just as bad. Turmoil around the Kingdom made us divide our strike group. Majority of people left to subdue chaos that dark guilds made, leaving only Fairy Tail and Sabertooth to deal with Eclipse Gate."

"Come on, that'd be piece a cake!" Natsu commented "I mean yea they are not as strong as us but they have some strong wizar-"

"It wasn't enough." Erza quickly interjected, interrupting Natsu in mid-sentence with strong and loud voice. After few moments she calmed down and continued "It went just as planned… Eric took one called Zirconis, Gajeel took one with rock skin and Wendy used her magic to keep them both healed and supported. We moved further toward the gate but future Rogue was already there and… we couldn't defeat him…"

"Bullshit!" Natsu shouted "I fought him on equal ground and you beat the living crap out of me!"

"Yes but with Magic Council gone, he opened Arcane Library and found some of the lost and forbidden magic. We were powerless and we had to retreat again. Half of Sabertooth died and…"

Natsu looked around as Erza made a pause. His heart started beating hard and sudden wave of heat took him over. Eyes darted from one person to another. He spotted Elfman, Evergreen to the left, further down was Alzack, Wendy and Juvia, standing in front of them was Jet and among the group that listened the story there were few faces even from other guilds. To the right were Hibiki and Yukino and even people he never saw before. Yet… he noticed someone was missing.

"Where are Levy and Bickslow? Macao, Droy, Bisca, Max… Where are Wakaba and Lisana? Where is Gray?"

Lucy took deep breath, remembering each of their faces with painful expression "They are… gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Natsu snapped his head to look at Lucy.

"Dead… Fairy Tail lost a lot of members…" She stopped, moving hand up to wipe tearful eyes.

"A..and gramps?"

"Master was killed while we were retreating… he sacrificed himself to hold off the dragons."

"No… no no no that can't be true. It can't be!" Natsu shouted, standing up from his chair. His hands clenched hard as he felt rush of anger coursing through his veins. It was more than anger, it was rage. One that demanded to be unleashed at Rogue.

"That is not worst part…" Erza continued "When we came back, Magnolia was again under the rule of dark guilds. We decided to lay low for a while, moving mostly during the dark and staying at enchanted houses until we could gather more people. Situation here was… horrible. Dark guild alliance was left uncheck and all they wanted was to spread chaos. Rogue didn't mind, his only care was to ensure no more uprisings happen. After six months of planning and gathering, we had enough members and sympathizers to take Magnolia back. That was the "Second uprising" and we ended battle within one hour… but… "

"But?" Natsu asked, sitting down, leaning arms on his knees as he listened.

"Rogue decided that he needed to intervene personally. He came to Magnolia with three dragons and wreaked havoc upon it. Over thousand people dead, among them, he personally executed leaders of the dark guilds who couldn't maintain peace. We couldn't fight anymore, there were too few left so we decided to just watch… If only we knew then…"

"If you knew what?"

"We are ones to blame." Lucy continued explanation, seeing as Erza could no longer continue, silently struggling to maintain her composure. "Leader of the Twilight Ogre stepped forward and asked from Rogue to sanction his guild and allow him to create new alliance, this time, one that would maintain order. He gathered everyone from remaining dark guild survivors among others who decided to join. That is how Twilight Legion was made and to ensure Magnolia wouldn't do something like this again… he did something horrible…"

"What did he do?" Dragon slayer asked but he received no answer. Everyone around him averted their looks, brows lightly furrowed, painful expression…

"I am sorry… it is hard to speak about it." Mest said as he approached table, standing beside Natsu "But you will understand it better, if you see it with your eyes." He moved even closer, extending index and middle finger of both hands and placed them on Natsu's temples. Gentle magic surge coursed through his head and he immediately shut his eyes. Images rolled…

He was exhausted… he felt as every muscle and bone in his body were as heavy as lead. Breathing became deep and heavy. Lids slowly moved open and he looked up. Day, perhaps noon, he was standing in the crowd. Try as he might, he couldn't move his head. He realized that he was looking not through his own, but through Mest's eyes. People were rumbling, talking among eachother. Fear was present.

"Did you do it?" Erza's voice came from his left, standing beside among the crowd of people.

He nodded "Yes… But I don't know if it worked on Rogue. Erasing us from everyone's memories took everything from my magic pool…"

"Citizens of Magnolia!" voice rose and everyone turned their head toward source of it. Standing on improvised stage made out of rubbles was a man, black hair, chin as if it was made out of marbles, big fat lips and glasses that covered his eyes. His stature was of an obese man. Beside him were no less than ten people, wizards probably. "Our glorious city has seen plenty of turmoil in past years. Buildings wrecked, public disorder, people doing whatever they want. And where has that led us?"

He stopped for few seconds, as if waiting for someone to reply to this speech that sounded remarkably as if he is running for a mayor "But our biggest plague is none other than Fairy Tail. I know what you all might say, they were Magnolia's favorites but that is all in the past. Our king was weak! Our safety, weak! Today, we are given the chance to change that, to make Magnolia a city of order, a city that will serve our new, strong king!" His hand pointed beside. Eyes looked up and now he could spot where he was pointing. Just behind him was Rogue, sitting on a chair, legs crossed and head leaned against his arm. Further behind him and on roofs of couple of houses stood two dragons, one with black scales and other with purple with two distinct pincers. Even from this distance it was clear that Rogue was rather pleased.

"Despite our rebellious acts, new king has seen it fit to forgive us. However, that forgiveness has a price! As of today, any and all guilds that are opposing Twilight Ogre shall be… forced to disband. To make it more official, we shall accept all those guilds willing to join us in maintaining order and form a new alliance! One that shall abhor all kinds of weakness that previous guilds has shown!..."

People were chattering as he continued to speak. Grandiose lies. Suddenly he felt pain in his chest and memory told him that it was due to exhaustion… he lost a lot of magic too fast.

"Hang in there." Thin voice came from his side and he looked. Wendy tried to smile at him, to comfort him… HIM! It should've been other way around. He nodded and smiled, taking another glance toward Erza.

"Can you believe him?" He said in low voice. "He speaks as if he is liberating us…"

"Let him speak…" Erza added.

"What if he sways people?"

"People won't believe what he is saying no matter how convincing it is. They always do same, do as they like. After we recover and gather more people, we will make new plan and take our town back."

Mest nodded, finally calming down his racing heart. Now he was capable of standing as tall as he could, looking toward the 'man of the day' in his grand self-praise. Fucking pig… he wasn't among those who fought for Magnolia and all of Fiore.

"… But as I said before!" Banaboster continued "All this comes with a price, and to ensure nothing like this happens a certain example must be made of. One quarter of an example!"

"Is he kidding?" Mest slightly rose his voice but Erza's grip calmed him "He is not really thinking of killing one quarter of the town."

"It will only work in our case… just stay calm." She attempted to convince him but she couldn't convince herself. Her eyes gave her away and it was first time, for Mest at least, to see her afraid. Crowd began to raise voice, rumbling was louder and fear was present in the air.

"You will understand why this sacrifice must be made and you will remember that challenging the power is not wise. One quarter… of your children!"

Crowd now began shouting, protesting, begging. It was only now Mest could see why people couldn't reach to him regardless how hard they tried. All around them, creating a circle, were minions of the Motherglare dragon. They didn't attack but they were too strong to be overpowered. Men came among the crowd, dressed in red and black with badges of Twilight Ogre, taking children from parents. They pleaded, begged for them to be taken instead but no plea was heard. Mest felt as if he was being pushed, his back felt pressure and he realized crowd was moving toward Banaboster. Line of minions was not broken and those who managed to jump over were immediately taken down.

"No! No no no this is not what should've happened!" He shouted and looked beside. Erza was pale, eyes wide as she stared down on the ground. She was panting like a rabid dog, breathing through her mouth and air vibrated from the pure anger and rage. Eyes turned forward as he saw a man came close, he reached for Wendy, trying to take her away. He wanted to jump, he wanted to take him down but his own exhaustion was too severe and all the adrenaline was not enough.

"Take me instead!" Voice came, eyes darted. Romeo…

"I am member of Fairy Tail!" He shouted, rolling up his sleeve to show guild mark. Man released Wendy and grabbed his hand. He walked with him, showing no resistance. Smile on his face as he turned back and looked at Wendy… she is crying, tears bathed in tears, she desperately is trying to reach for him but… Mest is not letting her. He holds her by her shoulders. Sacrifice, to save a dragon slayer, to save last hope of victory, to save someone dear to one who is giving his life…

Children were moved closer to the center of square. Crowd turned now, looking among eachother shouting. Voices. _Fairy Tail! Where is Fairy Tail?! Why are you letting this happen?!_ No one is stepping up. He remembers why… Erza commanded so before this gathering. Roar of the dragon, everyone is silent. Banaboster raises hand and lowers it. Eyes widened, heart-rate skyrockets and his legs grew numb and weak. Right hand moves over Wendy's eyes, covering them even though she struggles to remove it and see… Minions jump among the crowd of younglings… Roaring… screaming… crying…

Blood.

He opened his eyes, panting hard as he recovered. He was no longer in town square, but rather underground, surrounded by Erza and rest of Fairy Tail, where he was before Mest plunged him into nightmare.

"They… slaughtered… children…" He said in low voice as he leaned forward, hands grabbed his own hair, fingers tangled pink locks.

"By the end of the day, over two thousand children, all younger than fifteen were taken and slaughtered as an example." Erza said with heavy heart, lowering her gaze again. Everyone else followed, some even let out silent cries. "Citizens blamed us for it and they are right to do so. We were hated for not doing something about this, for not surrendering. If it were so easy, if our lives would've suffice… I would've been first to step up."

"But that wouldn't sate neither Rogue's nor Banaboster's blood thirst." Lahar interjected as Erza again was on verge of losing composure. "Because of them we are still here. Since that day, we gained only handful of supporters, all those who want revenge for what happened. Rest are too afraid to step up… fearing Twilight Legion might repeat his senseless slaughter. We had to protect last two dragon slayers if we are to stand any hope of winning."

"Damn you Rogue!" Natsu shouted, standing up and walking around his chair "I'm going to beat his ass!"

"If it was only that easy…" Mest said.

"Crocus has been cleared of rubbles and only partially built. Now it is a fortress that serves as Rogue's main center. From it he maintains control over entire kingdom. Not only that but he always has at least three dragons guarding it which makes it impossible for us to reach."

"What of other guilds? Sabertooth, Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale?" Natsu asked, keeping his high, angry tone.

"Because Fairy Tail endured longest, it stands as only guild left to challenge Rogue. Other guilds were disbanded and everyone joined Fairy Tail." Erza said and nodded to her right side. From the small crowd emerged three people. Hibiki, Yukino, Kagura.

"Fairy Tail now has over one hundred members across the kingdom and we are last guild that is resisting Rogue. Direct approach is no longer an option so we are resorting to guerilla warfare, hit and run tactic with minimal exposure."

Natsu moved closer to large table, slamming both of his palms against the wooden surface. His aura radiated heat, his eyes showed the untamable flames. His voice is loud and clear "Count me in!"


	4. Unforgetable

**A/N: And I am back with another chapter to this story. I am having mixed feelings about it as I realize as it goes on, it will become less and less cheerful and it will start to focus more on real issue. But that is for another chapter, in this one, I had to build up the reason why everyone is fighting and this is my culmination. Thank you all for your continuous support, I am eagerly expecting to hear your opinion of the story. P.S. I am probably gonna realize I made one or two or ten grammar mistakes and if I did I will fix them ASAP.**

* * *

Large stamp pressed against back of Natsu's right hand and red mark appeared on it. One, little red fairy. He looked at it and quickly turned.

"Yo Lucy! Check it out, I got a mark, now I am part of Fairy Tail!" He almost yelled, sporting his usual big, dumb smile. Lucy couldn't help it but feel the odd sense of nostalgia. In his eyes she saw herself, long time ago when she first came to the guild, when things were far more innocent and dreams were big. He looks so happy, so unbelievably radiating as he is looking at his mark with pride. She couldn't help but to smile. No words were shared but in her own, new-found way, she is congratulating him… and at the same time, offering her sincerest condolences.

"Just make sure you don't wave it around like a flag." Jake commented with voice low but sharp.

"What the hell is your problem, man?" Natsu turned head, sending a cold glare at the wizard.

"You people are my problem." He answered sharply "We bleed everyday on the streets and when the little goldilocks brings her friend, everyone gets excited as if we won the fucking Magic Games."

It didn't take longer than half second for Natsu to simply appear in front of Jake, eyes wide, cold, nostrils about to send embers through his every breath. Unlike his appearance, his voice was everything but hot, it was one that sends chills to the bones "Her name is Lucy, you got that?"

"Natsu, don't start." Erza commented and dragon slayer instantly took a step back but look didn't move for one millimeter "Jake has a point; the mark is not something that you can show on the street."

"You know, we used to be proud of being Fairy Tail wizards." Natsu turned, looking toward Erza who looked as if she is on the very edge of her nerves, fingers slowly rubbing her temples.

"We are proud." She said "But for the sake of keeping everyone else safe in town, we must act as if we hate everything we stand for. Safer for us, safer for the people."

"Yeah, that also means you have to keep yourself inconspicuous, if you even understand that word." Jake commented again, not missing a single nerve on Natsu who looked as if he was about to explode. He probably would have but Lucy grabbed him just under his elbow and waved head, pleading with her eyes not to.

"You think I can't?" Natsu asked, calmer because of Lucy's touch but still very close to him bursting.

"I know all about you, Natsu Dragneel." Jake continued, voice still carried tone of hatred "You might have been something in the past but you are far too volatile to be useful. Yea, you might be strong but that means jack shit if you can't follow the plan."

"That's enough Jake!" Erza shouted, shooting a glare at wizard.

"No, not this time! You know best what he can do and he's gonna create a fuss on the street more often than not! Who else we have to lose? Do I have to remind you what happened last time?"

Erza's teeth gritted hard. Her hand instinctively reached for the hilt of the sword. Even though she seldom resorted to violence when resolving guild issues, her anger clouded her judgment. She would have simply threatened Jake to fall in line but before her hand could pull out sword, Jake's voice turned into loud groan and cough. Natsu was quicker, sending a strong punch into man's stomach and with left hand he grabbed his throat, pinning him against the wall.

"You may know Erza but I grew up with her, so no one is allowed to annoy her but me and Gray!" Natsu growled, tightening the grip.

"Natsu, let him go!" Erza ordered and pinkette complied with great reluctance. "Jake, this is not the time for this, what's done is done."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Natsu asked "Why do you hate me? I haven't even done anything yet."

"I don't hate you, you jackass!" Jake growled at Natsu as he was recovering from the tight grasp. His eyes looked away toward Lucy, brows furrowed and gaze cold "I hate her."

"Lucy?" Natsu looked toward Lucy with wide eyes. She was just standing, eyes on her sides and head bowed down "Why would you hate Lucy?"

"Because…" Lucy started, losing her composure with every second "Several people died because of me."

"Yeah, good people. All that so we would save your useless ass."

"Jake!" Erza shouted, slamming hand against the heavy table, making it tilt in the process.

"I am not saying anything that isn't already true. How long are you gonna tolerate that? Silvia, Reva, Gordon. They were all great wizards, true fighters that you threw away because of her. She cannot even use magic anym-"

"Apologize…" Natsu barked, interrupting him in mid-sentence, standing dangerously close to his face.

"Why should I?"

"Because I am sure she didn't mean all that."

"Bullshit!" Jake growled, tightening his fist. He was ready to fully confront Natsu.

"I don't care what you think of me or her, but if you so much as whisper another bad word about her while I am around… I'll kick your ass so hard they'll think you are a shooting star. Go ahead, ask Erza if I can do it."

For good ten seconds Jake was silent, taking the shots from Natsu's eyes that constantly bombarded him. He realized that fighting against Natsu wouldn't end up well so he just snorted, moving step back.

"Yea, I'm sure you can. They gave you _Priority 1_ without a second of consideration. Not all of us can be dragon slayers after all. I'm done for the evening…" He turned and made his way out of the large room, slamming doors behind himself. Natsu was no less angry, he still fought the urge to rush out, beat every last bit of sense out of him and then back in. Pinkette however had to calm down as Erza shouted his name one more time, making him snap out of his thoughts.

"He said something about… Priority. What was he talking about?" Natsu asked.

"It is system we created recently. It allows us to place wizards into roles that would be most suitable for the need of the guild and missions. There are three Priorities and importance is in descending order." Erza answered Natsu's question. He took few seconds to deeply ponder on this and like an enlightenment, it hit him.

"Oooh I get it! It's like S-Class and those under it, right?" He asked.

"Sort of…"

"Wow." Natsu cheered, looking at his hand where mark was placed. True to the explanation, in the center of the fairy there was "I" imprinted.

"Awesome." Natsu smiled wide, showing bit of pride as he looked back at Lucy "About time I get to the S-Class."

"Yeah… you could say that…" Lucy responded, gaze turned away from him.

"It is not like that, Natsu." Erza interjected and pinkette looked at her. He could see pained expression on her face as she was explaining "Priorities are based on exact roles in guild along with levels of importance. Priority 1 is given to wizards that are of utmost importance to the guild, without them, there would be no point in fighting. As it happens, there are only four with that level… Wendy, Gajeel, Lahar and myself. You are fifth one."

"So all the big shots eh?" Natsu asked, suddenly feeling as if he was pushed into position of great importance without having to earn it. It was also a point when he realized that Lucy was not as important as he initially thought. Truth be told, he expected her to be among them since she was smartest person he ever knew. With master gone along with so many others, brain the thing that mattered. He glanced back at her and there was still the pained expression on her face.

"Priority 2 is given to all supporting wizards, logistics officers, advanced scouting parties and others who make all our operations run a lot easier. Hibiki and Warren would be best example of it since they are able to coordinate assaults teams from distance and allow us to navigate without being detected."

"I get it." Natsu nodded.

"But there is another thing about it. It also gives us perspective on wizard's importance. If for example multiple wizards are captured… we look first for those with higher priority to save."

The cheerful grin on Natsu's face disappeared, lips lost the pleasant curve and brows furrowed.

"No… you are not telling me that you are going to just use that to see who you can save and who you will not."

"We must." Erza continued "It is our way to survive in this war, we have to prioritize who is going to be worth the resources to sav-"

"Bullshit!" Natsu growled loud, slamming hand hard against the wooden surface of the table "You are choosing now? What happened to helping all our friends?!"

"We did!" Erza snarled at Natsu who took a step back from her angry expression. She was looking down but he could clearly see rage building up in her "But we began losing more and more people and soon it became a bad trade. More died than we rescued and we saw that losing numbers will end our fight faster than we can muster a proper plan for attack!"

"That's not the point! You are creating a value on life by making someone more important than others!" He took deep breath, hand moved across his face "So now I am more important than Warren? Than Elfman and Evergreen?"

"I know it sounds cruel Natsu… trust me not a day goes by without me reminding myself of it but you have to understand this." She looked up at him "Dragons cannot be defeated easily. It takes a lot of wizards to just stand on equal ground to one dragon. We learned the hard way that only dragon slayer can stand up to a dragon… and we lost all but Wendy and Gajeel. Without them… without three of you, we have no hope of winning."

Erza walked around the table, standing before Natsu. Her hand rolled up her left sleeve, showing Fairy Tail mark with same "I" that Natsu had. "It pains me more than you can imagine when I have to sit here and wait for others to do difficult missions… I would rather be there, outside, but only reason why I am here, why I bear this _curse_ is because I am now leader of Fairy Tail and I cannot allow it to fall apart."

Natsu kept glaring at her. There was a small tint of understanding, small whisper inside his head that kept saying that she is right. He couldn't even imagine what Fairy Tail was going through while he was gone and with so many people dead, so many friends lost in this chaos… Someone had to make difficult decisions. He knew, although he didn't want to admit it so openly, that Erza is probably strongest one… not physically although she is with good reason to bear her reputation… but rather, mentally strong, one who can bear the heavy responsibility. He remembered something. Practically everyone in Fairy Tail would be in this Priority 2. He wasn't brightest crayon in the box but even he could see the progression. Small fear appeared inside of him.

"What about last one? He asked but no one answered. "What is number three then?"

"Expendable." Lucy said, seeing that no one else is. "It means those with Priority 3 are first line agents and… fodder. If anyone of Priority 3 is captured, no effort will be made to rescue them. They are considered as dead the moment they are captured and expected to not reveal any information."

"No, that is not right!" Natsu growled again, glaring at Erza, showing his teeth. "What kind of sick joke is it to count someone as dead and not even try to help them?!"

"It is… necessary…" Erza responded calmly but he could see her swallow hard. No matter how much she tried to hide it, it was all too obvious to dragon slayer.

"So who is in this group?"

"I am." Voice reached him, and suddenly a chill went down his spine, as cold as Gray's ice. Slowly he turned his head and watched as Lucy gazes up at him with her bright wide eyes, hand up in front of her showing the mark of Fairy Tail with "III" in center. "Among thirty others, I am one of them."

"No…" Natsu uttered in low tone as he was watching her. She had a very soft smile on her face and eyes that belonged to one who already gave up on all hope. He said it again "No…" and again "No!"

"Everyone here knows what we are up against and what is our duty, no one is forced to-"

"Erase this!" Natsu came dangerously close to Erza, arm raised showing new guild mark "Erase this mark, I am leaving the guild!"

"What?"

"You heard me Erza! I am not staying one more minute in guild that is looking at its members as cannon fodder! This is not the Fairy Tail I was in years ago."

Erza was shocked but she kept her composure "Natsu, you cannot-"

"Like hell I can't! Either you put Lucy as 1 or you erase my mark!"

"Natsu, enough."

"No!" He barked again, both first showing thin smoke erupting from between fingers "I already lost one Lucy, I will not lose this one! If you can value someone based on how good they are instead who they are, then so can I… and I say I am gonna save her before anyone else!"

Erza sighed, turning around. She took several steps before she turned and pulled out her sword, pointing directly at Natsu. He knew this look, all too well. It was look of Erza who was past negotiations, one who was prepared to step up to the line for her friends. She was now stepping against one. Her eyes flickered, begging for him to back down, pleading him to stop but his anger was reaching its last threshold.

"You wanna throw down, alright! Bring it on!" Natsu finally erupted; hands were engulfed in intense flame that almost everyone present could feel on their skin. He was about to launch himself at her, to beat the living crap out scarlet warrior but before he could make a single millimeter, pair of arms wrapped around his chest, pressing tight.

"Please… don't…" Lucy pleaded as she tightened her grip, leaning head against his back.

"Lucy… I… I can't…"

"I know you can't but I know what I am getting into. We need you, now more than ever…" Her voice broke, thin and soft, begging for fiery slayer to calm down. "If we lose you now… we might as well lose all our hope. Please, don't…"

"Dammit!" He yelled loud, lowering his hands. His eyes lost all the fire they held and his breaths became fast and hard. Erza placed her sword back into sheath, knowing that whatever she says wouldn't be enough to comfort him. Lucy seemed to be doing well.

"I know how you feel, Natsu." Erza said in sympathetic tone "You cannot begin to imagine what I would give to never have to lose another Fairy Tail member. If my life could replace it, I would gladly plunge this sword into my chest right this instance, without remorse, without hesitation… if only it would make sure everyone else is safe."

"You mentioned teams." Natsu looked up at Erza, finally calming himself down enough to think clearly.

"Yes, every team is composed of various members with different magical abilities to give maximum amount of mobility and ability to adapt to as many situations as possible."

"Good." Natsu said quickly, pushing Lucy away from her current position and placing her beside him, arm around her shoulder. His eyes were lit again. "Then I want Lucy on mine."

"Natsu, this is ridiculous." Lahar interjected, rubbing his eyes under glasses. "You cannot-"

"No, I can. I am Priority 1 and that makes me the most important person in this guild."

"One of them…" Lahar corrected him "But… yes."

"That means I can make a call. My first call is that I am making a team and I am choosing Lucy to be in mine."

"N-Natsu…" Lucy muttered as she looked up at him. Her heart began beating hard and fast as she was gazing up at his face. He oozed confidence, aura so warm that were telling her that everything is going to be alright. Right there under his arm, for the first time in years… she felt completely safe.

"I made my choice!" Natsu said loud, attracting everyone's attention in the room. "If there is need for me to add another one, I will do so but for now you will either allow me to make this team or I will quit Fairy Tail and go to beat Rogue myself!"

"This is ridiculous." Lahar commented.

"You are level one right?" Natsu asked former Rune Knight and after few seconds he nodded.

"Without him, rest of knights cannot be gathered, what's left of them are training, gathering more members." Erza answered Natsu's question. She let out a long sigh "Granted, you can make the team with Lucy but I expect you to be cooperative."

"Yeah, no sweat." He smiled wide "I don't like new Rogue any more than you and if you got a plan to take him down, I'm in."

"We'll kick his butt!" Happy commented, flying over to Natsu.

"I guess we have no other choice. You cannot go your house tonight and we are expecting more people to come tonight… it will be crowded here."

"That's alright; I'll take him to my house." Lucy said, snapping out of her comfort zone. "For the night, it might be best for him to be there."

"It is curfew outside…" Lahar added.

"So?" Natsu smiled wide, turning toward the doors "I bet no one looks up on the roofs."

"And you are allowing this?" Lahar asked Erza, watching Natsu rush out through the doors, followed by Lucy and Happy. He was far from content with situation that just developed.

"I am." Erza said in firm tone, walking back to her seat by the large wooden table, filled with papers and maps.

"He will cause trouble."

"That he will. He has a point though. We were so focused on this war and we forgot value of our closest ones. I have seen Lucy get hurt over and over in the past, frankly, only reason why I am still allowing her to part of the guild is because she can take care of herself."

"Even after the incident?" Lahar turned himself, facing Erza fully, adjusting his glasses. Her gaze suddenly collided with his and he could see her anger in eyes.

"She is still my closest friend and if it was up to me, I would've thrown her out of the guild to be as far away from this war as possible. Lucy suffered more than anyone for us and paid every price to keep us running. How did we repay her kindness? We branded her, expecting the news of her capture so we can scratch her name from the list of our members…"

"We had to. You know that. It is not our fault she lost them."

"No. Jake has a point but he is also wrong." Erza continued after a very long sigh "Lucy is still our friend and if there is a place where she would be safest while helping us most… it is by Natsu's side. I am glad he is still loyal to his friends because we need all the light we can get in days to come."

There are few absolute certainties in this world and one of them is that when Natsu sets his mind on something, there is nothing that can stop him. While considered one of the least stealthy person in guild or… several guilds, his still juvenile imagination was nothing short of a genius. Much like a 'real ninja' in his mind, he knew how to travel without a single sound, jumping from one roof to another with almost unnatural grace. Happy followed his best friend from above, holding Lucy tight. They did however had to stop couple of times for Natsu to make a small ritual of fixing the scarf that kept falling over his eyes but that was all part of the play. Eventually they reached Lucy's house, managing to avoid every patrol on the street. He was right; no one expected anyone to run on the roofs so no one bothered to look up. Fear did most of the work and kept people from the streets.

Natsu pushed window of Lucy's apartment and jumped into darkened room. Soon after, Happy and Lucy went inside. The look was nostalgic, bringing smile on Natsu's eyes as almost everything was as he remembered. Chairs, couch, tables and plenty of paper all around.

"I guess you're hungry." Lucy said as she moved toward kitchen.

"Actually, we ate just before we got here. Not gonna lie, forests got some nasty animals… not tasty at all."

"You want to take a bath?" She asked, looking over to him.

"Yeah but we'll unpack first, got something to show you." Natsu answered and Lucy nodded. She took towel and went straight into the bathroom. Slowly, she entered hot water as tub was filled, leaning back to catch a moment of rest. So many things happened today, things that she couldn't have predicted would happen. Her hand reached up and pinched her cheek, just to see if this is not the dream. Sharp pain confirmed that she is very much awake.

After long twenty minutes she stood up and wrapped towel around herself. It only then occurred to her that she forgot her clothes outside. Fear entered her stomach… she had to walk out in nothing but towel. Knowing Natsu, he is probably too tired and just fell asleep on the couch. Maybe, just maybe…

She opened doors and peeked outside. Pinkette and Happy were nowhere to be found. He is probably in her bedroom, a notion that would usually irk her beyond comprehension but in this case a preferable option. Slowly, she went outside of the bathroom and closed doors, making way to her bedroom.

"You know, all these magazines are from last year." Natsu said as he was going over several magazines, right index finger extended, providing small flame to shine light upon the pages. She yelped lightly, eyes widen as she stared at Natsu sitting on her bed "Thought there would be more of those with you in."

"Redaction closed after Legion took over Magnolia. Can you please leave the room?" She asked, moving hands, and placing them on her shoulders.

"Hmmm? Oh, you can change." Natsu said almost nonchalantly, still looking at the magazine.

"No I can't while you are in here."

"Come on, not like I didn't see you naked." Natsu chuckled lightly "I practically did so almost every week."

"Sometimes he did that on purpose." Happy added, making Natsu shoot a glare at him though that didn't bother Exceed at all.

"I know… bathroom is free, you should go and clean yourself before you go to sleep."

"Yea yea, fine…" Natsu said with exasperated voice, dragging himself toward the doors as if he was given order by a parent. As soon as he approached door, he glanced over to Lucy. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he kept gazing at her. Lucy felt discomfort rise in her with every second of his intense stare.

"N-Natsu?"

He said nothing, instead, he walked over to her, standing in front, looking down at her with same piercing eyes. Her breath began trembling as he took both of her hands and placed them to her sides. Fingers reached up and grabbed edge of her towel. One quick move and towel opened, falling down on the ground. Lucy was standing there, as naked as the day she was born, in front of Natsu. There was no blush on her face, no smile, no frown, only eyes that gazed down.

"Oh my Natsu!" Happy added as he flew over to mock his friend "At least you should wait unti-"

Happy's words vanished suddenly, not completing sentence he started. His eyes grew wide as he watched his best friend. Natsu's hands moved to Lucy's neck and slowly down, palms and fingers brushing against her skin. She closed her eyes, feeling his touch move down over her chest, down to her stomach and sides. No words came from her, not a single flinch as his hands caressed her. It felt more like if hundred razors traversed across her body. He was struck, lips slowly parted as he watched her with gaze that he never thought he could… Horror.

"How… where… How did you got all these?" Natsu asked as he kept looking at her front. There was almost no place on her chest or stomach, or thighs that wasn't covered in scars. Slashes, cuts, even healed burns; her body was filled with it. Some short, some reached size of over ten centimeters in length and all of those looked like they were done long ago with great care to ensure scars remain. Lucy closed her eyes and from corners, small streams of tears began flowing.

"We… we tried to see how Legion communicates with Rogue… about six months ago Cana and I tried to enter their building undercover and… find any information. We miscalculated and they captured us and dragged us in the dungeons of their guild hall… They tortured us… day and night…"

She stopped for a moment; every second of recollection was another knife that pierced her mind. Natsu just listened, watching her scarred body with horror in his eyes.

"They knew we are from Fairy Tail but they didn't know where our base is located… they wanted to know how many more dragon slayers are alive, where they are and how to get to them. We said nothing and that angered them. They started cutting us, shallow… On every cut they poured salt… then they washed it only so they can pour again and again. Cana was… screaming so much… they were a lot more brutal to her…" Lucy stopped for few seconds, her hands reached up and grabbed her arms just above elbows, covering her chest. She was trembling, not from cold but from fear, from pain that she now had to remember.

"When that didn't help… they would take hot iron and press against us… each time to another place… Pain was excruciating… we were screaming… pulling, wanting to break the chains but all we could do is cut the shackles deeper into wrists... a-and when that didn't help… they began breaking our fingers… one by one…" Her hands moved down, rubbing one palm against another. The friction felt like sandpaper as she continued. "Just to be sure that we don't get any rest… during the night they wou… they would…"

"They would what?" Natsu asked in soft tone as she watched Lucy cry, holding hand over her mouth with eyes shut tight.

"They would rape us…" Lucy said in low, trembling voice "And once they would get tired… they would…" She slowly turned, showing her back to Natsu. Her back was not a single sliver less scarred. One mark beside another, going from her shoulders down to her lower back. Natsu's hand slowly moved closer, fingers barely even touched her skin but she jerked forward, fearful of the foreign touch. With long hesitation, Natsu moved hand over her skin again, this time with less resistance. Fingertips moved across the scars… there were at least one hundred of such, one beside another.

"For hours they lashed us, demanding to know where you are… but we said nothing… I was told that we were in there for three days but it felt more like years to me… On that third day… I…" She began crying again into her arms.

"What happened?" Natsu asked.

"I couldn't do anything Natsu!" Suddenly Lucy turned, burying her head into Natsu's chest. Pinkette just looked down at her, not knowing what to say. All he could do is wrap his arms around her and listen "Cana… s-she… she stopped screaming… I called for her over and over but she didn't answer… she couldn't take it anymore Natsu… her heart… it was too much to endure… it gave up…"

"That's when I heard doors open. Others came, knocked out guards and led us out… there was a fight, rest of the guild returned and… we lost four members… trying to save me and Cana, but only I was rescued… And I am useless now…"

"No you are not." Natsu said in sharper tone, not knowing what else to say. The news of Cana being dead managed to pierce him right through his heart.

"I am. I lost all my keys and I cannot use any other form of magic… They made priorities and I was placed in third one. Lahar says that… we cannot afford to lose any more members, especially not during rescuing others."

"You are not useless Lucy." Natsu repeated "I don't know who convinced you of such but you are not just someone to be thrown away! We are a team; we always were a team and whatever everyone else says, I won't allow anyone to forget about you."

"Thank you…" She finally smiled, a small curve on her lips, nothing more "I cannot begin to tell you just how much that means to me…"

Within the next half hour, Natsu was already in the bathtub, leaned against the wall of it with legs bent up. Near his feet, Happy was floating, tilting from side to side, looking up at the ceiling of the bathroom. They were silent, both of them but then Happy broke the silence.

"Thinking about Lucy?"

"Yeah…" Natsu answered, looking into the water at his own reflection.

"It must have been hard." Happy said moving over to the edge and placing front paws over the bathtub to keep himself from sinking.

"Yeah…" Natsu said again "Before you hatched, Erza used to torture us… me and Gray. When we crossed the line she would drag us outside of Hall and punch us over and over until we apologized to each other. I used to think that there is nothing worse than that but… Now that I see Lucy like this…" He closed his eyes and in low tone said "This is my fault."

"It's not."

"It is, Happy. We should have come sooner."

"Aye, but we didn't know where we were. We were running in wrong direction. What are we gonna do now?"

Natsu's gaze rose and met Happy's "We are gonna find those who killed Cana and did this to Lucy and we'll make them regret the day they were born. After that, we're going after Rogue. Plain and simple. Are you with me, buddy?"

"Aye sir!" Happy added cheerfully. It was time for them to finish bath and walk out. Usually, this would be the time when Lucy would be asleep and he would think of some mischievous way to have fun and make her angry in the morning. Most often it was the drawing on her face but now, he just wanted to see where she is. He opened doors of her bedroom and peeked inside. She was lying on her bed, covered with blanket that he clenched with her both hands. Her entire body was trembling and it didn't take him much time to realize she wasn't cold… no… she was having nightmares. Slowly, he walked over to her bed and sat on it, placing hand on her still shaking shoulder. He could hear her; quiet cries escaped her lips and small wet area on pillow could be seen under the light of the Moon.

Natsu shook her gently, enough to wake her up from the terrors that chased her in her dreams. She turned her head and looked up at him.

"Natsu? Is that you?" She asked as if wondering if all that happened today is just another dream

"I'm here, don't worry." Natsu smiled, moving hand from her shoulder to her head, slowly caressing her on her hair. She turned to face him, arms quickly wrapped around him and she whispered "Please don't go…" He said nothing, not a single word, not a single sign of affirmation. Instead, he lowered himself and stretched across her bed, holding her tight in his arms. No sleep came to him that night but he was content because she finally fell asleep. Like a magical amulet, he somehow managed to disperse all her nightmares with just his sheer presence. For now, that is enough.


End file.
